Apparatus for distributing materials



Oct. 7, I 941.

.A. SCHUMACHER 2,258,519 APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIALS Filed May31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. SCHUMACHER APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTINGMATERIALS t 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 31, 1938 Patented Oct. 7, 1941UNl' T-ED s PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIALS AugustSchumachcr; Flushing, N." Y.

tributing materialsand more particularly; to. an

agricultural implement which is. especially adaptable for distributingfertilizer, seeds of 1 various "character,- or anymaterial which isbroadcasted over the soil.

-Various types of mechanisms for theibr'oad- "cast distribution offertilizer, seedandother materials have 1 been heretofore iprovided."such prior deviceshave included power-operated as 'well ashand-operatedtypes. In the case of each class of=machine mentioned, one of theimportantproblems encountered the even and uniform distribution of thematerial upon "the 'soil as themachine traversesthe field. It ishighlydesirable, from the standpoint ofexpenditure of time and labor, tocoveras wide a path as possible during operation of "the machine. The

,width'of such'path is subject to certain limitations, among which-maybe mentioned the packing of the'material adjacent-the outer-ends of thedistributing devices remote'from the centrally-positioned source ofmaterial supply. This packing may render impossible the uniformdistribution of a the material adj-acent -such outer ends.

In addition to the aboveit -has been 'found that, w-iththe present typeof machines, the uniform'distribution of fertilizer is difiiculttoattain under relatively high moisture conditions, which tend to caketheferti-lizer and render it lumpy. This clogs the distributingapparatusand results in non-uniformdistribution and even breakageof certain ofthe operative portions of "theapparatus.

It isaccordingly one of the objects of the present invention to" providea distributing mechanism which shall be so constructed and arranged asto overcome the disadvantages inherent in the prior art devices.

Another object or the invention is to provide a mechanism; oftheforegoing character which will be capable-of uni-forinly'distributingthe material over a substantially wide area.

Still another object contemplates the provision of a novel-mechanismin-a device-ofthe above'typefordnsuring-a continued and evendistribution of .thefertilizerbr other ;material-notwithstandinglthefact that varying moisture conditions may render thesame cake'd and lumpy.

"stillanother object resides in:a novel assembly 1938,} Serial No.-210,959

light in weight aswell as economical of manuiactureyand which-willuniformly distribute the material. overa wide. path without clogging.

Other-novel features: and advantages of the 5 .invention, .notheretoforeoutlined, .will appear .more fully hereinafter "from the followingdetailed description, when considered in connection-With theaccompanying drawings, wherein oneform of theinvention has beenillustrated. loiltiis to be expressly understoodhowever, that thedrawings.- are utilized for purposes of illustration only and-are notdesigned as a definition of the-limits of' the invention, referencebeinghadfor this :purpose to the .claims appended l5 hereto.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference tcharacters refer to likeparts throughout the a several views: i

Fig 1 is aside view of a distributing mecha- ZOnismembQdyi-ng theprinciples of the present invention; I

Fig. 2 is a partial top view'of the mechanism of Fig. 1; V

Fig; -3 is-a partial view in perspective of the .distributor housinga-ncl associated distributing spouts; Fig-14; is'a fragmentarylongitudinal axial sectionalviewof the' distributor; 5 is atransversesectional view taken so along; lines .5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig.6 is a diagrammatic view in perspective of'a distributor spout and aportion of the valve plate, :and

-Fig. '7 is a perspective view of one of the re- .Rmmovable closure.clips which may be employed.

:A distributing. mechanism embodying the principles of the presentinvention is disclosed more :particularly in'Figs- 1 and 2 of theaccompanying ."drawingsas including a frame 8 having a pairkoiJgrOund-engaging wheels 9 and IE1 rotatably supported thereby, andcarrying a conveyor or distributing device ll.

The. frame ispreferably constituted by a pair of handle: members I2 andI3, said members heing tbent' inwardly at their forward portions-thereofin-order to form wheel-supporting exitensionsf I14 and 15. Thewheels 9 and ID are suitabiy mounted .uponan axle it carried byextensions l4 and I5, and interposed between sothe' wl'ie'els is adriving sprocket ill whichmay .L-be: drivably connected with :the wheelsin such manner that. rotation of the wheels effects rota- 1' non: offthesprocket.

Intermediate the. extremities of the .frame i5rzmembe'rs l2 .andl3,'-the distributor II is supported, and, referring more particularlyto Fig. 4, such distributor includes a housing |8 upon which a pair ofbrackets l9 and 29 are secured for attachment to the frame members I2and I3 as by means of bolts 2|, see Fig. 1. Preferably, in order toprovide a more rigid structure, the housing I8 i continuous from one endto the other, although it will be understood that the same may be formedin two aligned sections, suitably secured together in the center, ifdesired. In order that the distributor Il may have a supply offertilizer or other material conducted thereto for subsequentdistribution, the housing I8 is formed with a pair of spaced-apartflanged openings 22 and 23, a hopper 24, for the fertilizer or othermaterial, being adapted to be secured to the aforesaid flanged openings.As will be readily perceived from Fig. 4, the hopper 24 is provided withdepending chute portions 25 and 26 respectively registering and securedto the flanged openings 22 and 23.

One of the features of the present invention resides in the provision ofa novel conveying mechanism for uniformly and evenly distributing thefertilizer or other material supplied to the distributor H by the hopper24 during operation of the apparatus. To this end, a pair of shafts 21and 28 are provided, the outer ends of said shafts being suitablyrotatably mounted in end closures 29 and 39, while the inner ends of theshafts are adapted to abut within a drive chamber 3| formed at thecentral portion of the housing 8. Such drive chamber is constituted byspaced-apart walls 32 and 33 and houses a sprocket wheel 34 which issuitably splined to the shafts 21 and 28 and connected thereto asdrivably connects sprocket 34 with sprocket I! and, as will appear morefully from Fig. 4, the

chamber 3| is provided with an opening 38 permitting insertion ofsprocket 34 and allowing the chain 31 to function properly.

Conveyor means are drivably connected to the shafts 21 and 28 forcontinuously circulating the fertilizer or other material in oppositedirections, outwardly from the central portion of the distributor II,and such mechanism is so constituted as to constantly maintain thematerial in circulation, thus preventing packing thereof and clogging ofthe distributor. To this end, worms 39 and 49 are secured, throughoutthe lengths thereof, to the shafts 21 and 28 respectively, the saidworms being housed within tubular casings 4| and 42. The outer end ofcasing 4| is spaced from closure 29 and is provided ation of the drivingmechanism constituted by sprocket I1, chain 31 and sprocket 34, materialpassing from the hopper through flanged openings 22 and 23 and housingI8 will be moved from the central portion of said housing outwardlytowards the ends thereof in opposite directions. 'Themovement of thematerial will be' conducted through the casings 4| and'42 and the actionof the worms therein, not only moves the material outwardly through thecasings, but effectively breaks up any lumpy material.

For the purpose of effecting the continuous movement of the materialafter the same has been conveyed to the outer ends of the housing IS, inorder to prevent packing at said outer ends and to secure the evendistribution referred to above, a second screw-type conveyor isassociated with each of the conveyors 39 and 49. Preferably, the secondscrew-type conveyor is of the coil spring type having one end onlyconnected with the driving shaft. As shown, a screw-type coil springconveyor 5| having its inner end thereof fastened to a collar 52 carriedby shaft 21, is housed within a chamber 53 defined by housing I 8 andcasing 4|. This conveyor surrounds casing 4| and extends to a pointadjacent the closure 29. The only connection between the conveyor andshaft 27 is through the collar 52. A similar coil spring conveyor 54 ispositioned within a chamber 55 defined by housing It and casing 42, suchconveyor being secured at one end only to the shaft 28 as by means ofcollar 56 carried by said shaft.

It is to be particularly pointed out that the conveyor 5| is oppositelypitched as respects conveyor 39, while the same is true as regardsconveyors 54 and 49. By this construction, the material which isconducted by the conveyors 39 and 49 in opposite directions towards theouter ends of the housing [8 is caught by the coil spring conveyors 5|and 54 as it emerges from the outer ends of casings 4| and 42 and isreturned toward the center of the distributor. During the returnmovement of the material, the same falls out-,- wardly through openings51 spaced along the bottom of the housing l3. By the provision of theaforementioned construction, packing of the material at the outer endsof the housing I8 is avoided and an even flow and distribution isobtained notwithstanding the tendency of the fertilizer to become cakedand lumpy due to excessive moisture conditions. In order to prevent anytendency of the material to become packed adjacent the central chamber3|, the inner ends of the conveyors 5| and 54 are provided with shortreversed-pitch portions 58 and 59 which have the tendency tocontinuously force the material away from the abutments 32 and 33 during1 operation of the mechanism.

Means are provided by the present invention for varying the flow of thematerial through the outlet openings 5'! and preferably such means areso constituted as to be selectively operated by the operator from apoint conveniently located adjacent the handle members l2 and I3. In theform shown, a valve plate 60 is slidably mounted against the bottomportion of the housing l8, such plate being supported from the housingas by means of longitudinally-extending ribs El and 62, Fig. 5, andconforming to the curvature of the housing. In the normal position ofthe plate, openings 63 thereof, corresponding in number and relativespacing to the openings 51, are adapted to register with the last namedopenings in order to permit the maximum flow of the material from thedistributor. However, this plate is movable lengthwise of the housingIt! in order to vary the degree of registration of openings 63 and- 51,such movement 1 of the plate being controlled by movement of a membersI2 and I3.

a spin and slot connection $1611., connecting the lever with across-brace .68, likewise connected to members M .and I3. ".The.opposite end of the control member 6.4, as .will. appear more .fullyfrom .Figs. .2 :an'cl :3, :is secured to a :cam. plate .69, adapted *tocooperate with rollers and "H :secured toxthevalve plate GB. The camplate is .so arranged that :movement .of the control memberiS'A in onedirection, as :limited by the pin and slot connectionsfi'l, will effectmovement of plate 6.0 along its length in one direction a sufficientdistance to fully olosezopenings 51 in "the "housing 18:. On ithe otherhand, movement oftthe control member'64 in theoppositedirec- "tion, adistance governed by the pin and slot 'Since the position of the'lever64 with respect to the cross brace 68 will govern thelooation of thevalve'plate 60 with respect to'the openings -5!, any suitable; indicia,not shown, maybe placed on the lever adjacent said cross-brace ifdesired, saidindicia being cooperable with a suitable reference mark onthe cross-brace, not

shown, and :therebyindicating ;to the operator the extent of fiowrof'thetmaterial. Thus, by the construction just described, the operator:may Vary the distribution of: material -from zero 1 to amaximum: atwill.

Inorder to effect the final :distributionof the material :to the soil,as close to the latter ,as

possible, thus minimizing the effect of wind upon the distribution ofthemateriaL-spouts are associated with each of the distributor-openings.These spouts are preferably formed of flexible material and have meansassociated therewith for varying thelposition thereof-with respect tothe distributor, this feature enabling the operator to control-thedirection of delivery of the material for-the purpose of compensatingfor -variations in thedistances between plant rows.

In the form illustrated,"flexible spouts 12 are provided-.withfittings13, see Figs. 5 and'fi, which are so formed'as to permit them to be slidalong ribs GI and 62from the outer ends thereof,-into proper positionadjacent openings 51, following which the fittings .'I3are secured inposition .as

.bymeans of setscrews-M. Associated with each spout is a rod 15, thelower end of which is provided witha portion 16 embracing the spouts radjacent the'lower extremities thereof.

Referring moreparticul'arly to Fig. 3, the upper ends of the rods whichare located to the right of the-'centralportion of the,distributoriare'con- 'nected to a bar 11 slidably mountedin bracketsl'fiand T9 .carriedby the housing l8. Those rods positioned to the leftofthe central portion of the distributor, as viewed in Fig.3, are.secured at their upper ends to abarlBll which is slid- :ably mounted?in, brackets :8! and 82 carried by the :housing l8. Means are providedfor separately and independently .reciprocating-ithe bars l1 and "8B sothat the'xbattery of aspouts controlle'dtby"each'barmay be'moved' inthesame or opposite directions for "the purposeset forth hereinabove.

Inorder'toeffect movement of the bar 11 and the battery of spoutsassociated therewith, the

said bar is provided'withaxrod 83:;having a-ball and-socketconneotionili ll therewith, the other end of .the, .rod '83beingfliconnected through a ball and socket .joint 85 to one end of alever 86. This lever, seegFigs. 1 and 2, is :pivotallymountedintermediate fits ends to .the handle member t3 zasibymeans of :abracket81, the outer end of the lever being operativelyconnected to aIinkBBcarried by a handle grip 89. Thislatterzisrotatablymounted on theupper end of the handle member, 13, and, upon rotative move- .mentthereof by the operator, the lever 86 is .moved about the pivotalconnection 81. lower end of the lever 86 thus will move in a planeparallel to :theplane of movement of bar 11 and will, through therod8.3, move said bar "and the spoutscontrolled thereby in one direction{or .the'lother, depending upon the direction ofirotationqof the handlegrip"8.9-.

The bar 1831 is moved in a manner-similar to that above described ginconnection with bar ll. As. shown,:Figs..2 and 3, bar .80 is connectedwith aurod 99 which in turn is connected to a-lever 9| .oscillatablymounted upon the handle member 1-2 at 9:2. Oscillation of :lever 9| iscontrolled by the operator ,through; rotative movement of. a handle grip93.

:Itmay sometimesbefound desirable to cut off the flow of materialthrough one or more of the openings 51 without disturbingthedistributionthrough the remaining openings. For-this purpose, the present inventioncontemplates the provision of a novel gsprin closure clip 94, -see Fig.Z, which is providedrwithaypair of spring arms:- and 96. Thisclipiisrzsorconstituted that :it may be sprung into position over;ribs361 and 6 in or r o cl e any desired op nin 57. It will of course beunderstood'that, inapplying the closure clip, the spout fitting 1 3.associated with the particular opening '51, which it .is desired to'close, willbe moved to one side to permit application of the closure.clip.

During operation of the distributing =mecha- .nism heretofore described,theoperating member. is. initially manipulated-tosucha position that thecam 69 proves slide 60 ;to-effecta clo- :sure of all of 'the'openings:51. Thereafter, a supply of fertilizer orother material is=placedwithin hopper "Mp-and falls by grav-ity through openings ZZ-and ZS andgenvelops the inner ends of the screw conveyors 39,-4.0, 5i: and-s54.Thereafter, the operator moves the-device in order to operate theconveyorsand assure-the-complete filling of the housing iswithctheimaterialtobe distributed. "With the machine in proper-positionwith respeot'to the area-.tobe covered, the control memberfilmay then bemanipulated so that the plateBll uncovers-theopenings 51 the desiredamount. ments,-it is onlynecessaryior theoperator to push the machineoverthe areato be treated and movement of .the wheels!) and H] will,through'thedriving connections", 34 and 31, operate the conveyorsinordertoiefieota uniform distribution of: the material. .At any time,when the operator desires to effect .a ,lateral change in the directionof flow of the material, as regards the. course of the machine acrossthefield, itis only necessary to manipulate one or the other of thehandlegrips llfi or 93 Where- -upon the-batteryof s-poutsccntrolledthereby will be laterally shifted. Moreover, the oper- ,ator may readilyvary the.amount-ofrnaterial distributedby adjusting the position oflever- 64, thus shifting the, valve;plate-6ll. .Asghas beenparticularly; pointed out; hereinbefore the spring :type conveyors 5|and 64 i are.' anchored 20 the The' Following the above adjustdrivingshafts 21 and 28 at one end only. The method of assembly of theseconveyors with the remainder of the apparatus is preferably such that,during operation of the device, each of the aforesaid conveyors willtend to unwind as the material is conveyed thereby from the outer endsof the distributor towards the central portion thereof. Thisconstruction avoids any tendency of the springs to wrap down and bindupon casings 4| and 42- which would otherwise occur if the springs had apitch opposite to that shown.

There has thus been provided by the present invention a noveldistributing apparatus which is especially desirable and efiicient inbroadcasting fertilizer or other materials. I"he provision of theconveying mechanism disclosed herein enables an unusually Wide path ofdistribution to be covered during one traverse of the field. The use ofsuch distributing mechanism, moreover,

positively maintains the material in circulation to the end that auniform flow thereof may be achieved notwithstanding the tendency ofsome materials to cake and lump due to changes of moisture conditions.The apparatus is, moreover, of a rigid and rugged nature and is capableof construction of light-weight materials, thereby rendering the sameespecially useful for manual operation.

While a preferred form of the invention has been herein disclosed anddescribed with considerable particularity, it is to be expresslyunderstood that the invention is not limited to this form but is capableof expression in various other embodiments as well known to thoseskilled in the art. Reference will, therefore, be had to the appendedclaims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for distributing fertilizer and like material comprising aframe, a hopper supported thereby and adapted to contain a supply ofmaterial to be distributed, a tubular housing carried by said frame andhaving an opening for receiving material from said hopper, said housingbeing provided with a plurality of openings spaced along the lengththereof and through which the material is distributed, a shaft rotatablymounted in said housing, means for driving said shaft, a screw conveyorsecured to said shaft and extending from said first openingsubstantially throughout said housing for conveying material fed to saidfirst opening along the length of the housing in one direction, a secondconveyor having one end only secured to said shaft adjacent said firstopening for conveying" the material throughout the housing adjacent saidplurality of openings in the opposite direction, said second conveyorbeing formed of a member wound spirally in one direction around butspaced from and free of the screw conveyor and being provided with arelatively short section adjacent said first opening, said section beingwound in an opposite direction with respect to the remaining portion ofsaid second conveyor.

2. A device for distributing fertilizer and like material comprising aframe, an elongated housing extending transversely of the frame andprovided with a hopper for receiving a supply of the material to bedistributed, said housing havmeans for uniformly distributing thematerial through said opening comprising a shaft rotatably mounted insaid housing, means for driving said shaft, and a pair of elongatedconcentrically-arranged screw conveyors of different diameters, saidconveyors being positioned within the housing and drivably connectedwith said shaft, the outer conveyor being formed of a coil spring memberwound spirally around but spaced from and free of the inner conveyor andhaving one end only connected with said shaft adjacent said firstopening, said outer conveyor being provided with a relatively shortsection adjacent said opening having its convolutions wound in theopposite direction as respects the remainder of said outer conveyor tothereby secure a reversed pitch.

3. A device for distributing fertilizer and like material comprising aframe, an elongated housing supported on the frame and provided with ahopper for receiving a supply of the material to be distributed, saidhousing communicating with said hopper and being provided with aplurality of openings spaced along the length thereof and through whichthe material is distributed, and means for uniformly distributing thematerial through said openings comprising a second housing within thefirst housing and defining a chamber therebetween, a shaft extendingthrough said second housing, a screw conveyor attached to said shaft forconveying the material through the second housing in one direction, anda second screw conveyor positioned in said chamber for moving thematerial in the opposite direction through the chamber, said secondconveyor being formed of a member wound spirally around said secondhousing and spaced therefrom, said second conveyor having one end onlysecured to said shaft and extending substantially throughout the lengthof said elongated housing.

4. A device for distributing materials comprising a frame, an elongatedtubular housing supported by said frame and extending transverselythereof, means including a hopper positioned intermediate the ends ofsaid housing and dividing the latter into a pair of oppositely-extendingtubular chambers, each of said chambers having an opening communicatingwith said hopper and being provided also with a plurality of openingsspaced along the bottom and through which the material fed to saidhopper is distributed, a shaft rotatably mounted in each of saidchambers and extending throughout the length thereof, means for drivingboth said shafts in one direction, a screw conveyor secured to each ofsaid shafts in each respective chamber and extending substantiallythroughout the length of the latter for conveying material fed from saidhopper through said first openings outwardly towards the outer ends ofsaid chambers, and a second conveyor positioned in each of said chambersaround and spaced from said screw conveyors and coextensive with thelength of the latter for conveying the material from the outer ends ofthe chambers toward the inner ends thereof and past said plurality ofopenings for distribution therethrough, each of said second conveyorsbeing formed of a coil spring wound to secure an opposite pitch fromthat of its cooperating screw conveyor and being connected at its innerend only with said shaft, whereby during operation the resistance tomovement of the material tends to effect an increase in the diameter ofsaid second conveyors.

AUGUST SCI-IUMACHER.

